Breakfast at preschool

Each year the kids' preschool hold a continental breakfast for parents, siblings and kids. It's a great time to see their rooms filled with art projects and meet other kids and families. It also is a good time to load up on the sugar with those yummy pastries! I admit, I had at least three of them! I thought that was terrible of me until Peter yelled, "Mommy! THIS IS MY FOURTH ONE!"

I was happy to leave him in the care of his teachers to handle the sugar rush and to pick him up at the crash (hoping for a nap).

Natalie is such a lady when she eats!

It's about impossible to get the three kids to smile at the camera at the same time! This is as good as it gets!

Expanding our toy horizons

The invasion has begun...new toys are entering our lives. Remember the days of colored blocks, Leapfrog caterpillar, and Thomas trains? They're slowly becoming a distant memory as the kids grow older. Fisher Price is hanging on by a thread aka Elaine. As Peter is getting closer to 6 years old (sniff sniff) and Natalie is starting her 4th year (sniff sniff), their interests have expanded to a new level of toys.

Let me introduce to you, Legos! Peter has always enjoyed building towers. I guess Legos have also been in our lives for years with those mega blocks...at least since 2007:

Then last fall, I just had to take the kids to their first Lego store on Magnificent Mile in Chicago:

Can you feel the excitement?
And how cool was it to build his first Lego model (Anakin's skyfighter)!?:

Now after Mommy went to the Lego Outlet store in Atlanta with Ai-Yoo and Po-Po, our house is filled with Lego building blocks with SO many possibilities.

I have to admit, I enjoyed building the beach house model with Peter to the point that I waited until they went to bed to build the another model house! The kit from Po-Po has 3 house plans! I can almost see myself old and grey putting Lego models together with my huge magnifying glass and all!

And let us not forget that I mentioned a trip to the American Girl store. Po-Po was caught up in the frenzy and got a Itty Baby Twin girl for Natalie, her very first American Girl doll. Most likely, it'll be her only after I saw the price tags on these dolls! Yowza! I loved the fact the doll resembles Elaine and it'd be like Natalie taking care of a baby Elaine. Natalie, on the other hand, loved the fact the doll had underpants too! :) The girl has her special priorities!

Happy Birthday Po-Po weekend in Atlanta

Elaine and I flew down to Atlanta last weekend to celebrate my mom's 68th birthday on April 12th. Because Elaine is under 2 and could be a lap baby on the plane, she was the best candidate to join me! Nothing beats a free plane ride for a child! It was exciting for her!

In no time after landing and getting greeted by my family, Elaine absorbed lots of attention and received many gifts. Po-Po gave her new shoes and a new dress, which Elaine totally loved. She really enjoyed showing off her new shoes by striking a model-like pose.

The two days in Atlanta went by very quickly, but we still managed to see and eat a lot! First stop was the Lego outlet store. It was about the coolest store for any kid and adult! So many blocks with many more opportunities! You can even build a huge Lego kid! Elaine couldn't resist his eyes!

For lunch, we went to The Lobster House, which actually had a wonderfully large sushi buffet. It was so so good! We ate more than our bodies needed, so we walked it off at a nearby mall. To my niece Alysa's great excitement, we made a long stop at the American Girl store. That place was madness!
Elaine had so much fun with Po-Po. This picture about says it all!

Po-Po even gave Elaine her first manicure. Elaine's nails were so tiny, Po-Po had to pull out the reading glasses to see them! :) Not my first pick of colors, but lime green was a huge hit with Elaine!

We enjoyed a home-cooked meal and a Cheesecake Factory cake for the birthday celebration.

Alysa and Alex gave a mini concert playing the Chinese musical instruments they're learning to play. Elaine was very interested in both of them. Anyone in Iowa City giving lessons?

More fun family times filled the weekend with a trip to Chinatown...Anthony and Elaine in the Chinese garden area.

No sibling rivalry, just love, during an outting to Rita's. Everyone is always happier after custard and Italian ice, right?

Something about watching baby eat an ice cream cone is just so fascinating.

Art time with cousin Alysa.

QT with my dad's African Grey Parrot, Doong Doong.
My mom loves giving him head scratches.

Many laughs and smiles before we headed back to the airport.

Many laughs were provided by Ai-yee. The least Elaine could have done is say "Ai-Yee", but we're still working on that! Promise!

No trip to Atlanta would be complete without have a yummy plate of Masaman Chicken Curry...

at my favorite restaurant of all time, Thai Chili!

New life to old slide

I found a little treasure in the pool area: a play structure. It was being used to store some pool tubing. It looked neglected and forgotten. I saw a new toy for the kids. As luck would have it, the slide to the structure was in the garage storage room. So, with a little TLC, this play structure got its new life...as well as new playmates.

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came very early at the Burer house! In front of each kids' bedroom door, the Bunny left a basket filled with coloring books, sidewalk chalk, chocolate bunny, and a special toy.

Before they could enjoy the treats they just got, someone noticed that the Easter Bunny left a trail of Easter eggs! It led them down the stairs, through the foyer, and into the living room where we suspect it hopped out the window since there were a lot of eggs left behind there!

The kids had a great time collecting all of the eggs around the house (even on in the sink!...guess the Bunny got his hands sticky from candy).

They quickly counted and then opened their eggs. Chocolate, jelly beans, and robin eggs filled our kitchen!

I found it interesting that of all three, Elaine was most orderly with her egg counting. It says a lot about her character!

With some quick wardrobe changes, pantyhose shimmies, and hair brushing, we made it to the 8am mass. It was a great experience especially since the kids behaved pretty well considering how early they got up! After mass, we came home to find our magnolia tree blooming with beautiful fragrant flowers.
Hoping to start a tradition, we tried getting pictures of the kids in their Easter attire.
Take 1...Natalie gave us a quirky smile.

Take 2...kids are about to attach the photographer!

Take 3...Focus, kids! Focus!

Take 4...Kids, look at the camera with a smile and you'll get a treat from your basket!

Finally, a decent picture! :) Bribery works in the hardest of times.

And one more with a very cooperative little girl!

Family bowling

As part of the Easter weekend, we wanted do whatever was fun. After brainstorming with the kids, we had a great lunch at Panera and then headed to the bowling alley.

It was good fun and the kids were really into it. Unfortunately, they didn't make tiny shoes for Elaine, so she ended up watching from the sidelines.

Each of us had our own form of bowling. Natalie had her flair while waiting.

Peter showed great patience, especially waiting for his ball to return.

I will not share what my form looked like as a view from behind me was not a flattering one.
But regardless, my form was not good enough because this was the final score board.

AB = Mommy, PB = Peter, and NB = Natalie.

Mommy got bowled over by her 4 and 5 year old!

Ice cream makes everything sweeter

With every birthday comes a well-child visit! Natalie liked the little robe she got to wear. Soon after this was taken, she heard she was getting two shots. Her day suddenly took a sharp turn south. She (and I) managed to get through the appointment without too much drama...

well, enough drama that Mommy promised chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.
Natalie's day just got a lot sweeter!

Her innocent by-standing siblings got a sweet deal, too!
Call it a thank-you-for-behaving-well-during-your-sister's-tortured-moment!